NEW YORK — Before Iron Maiden played the only new song of their 90-minute set on Wednesday night (July 30) at Madison Square Garden, frontman Bruce Dickinson offered a little sociology lesson.

Dickinson spoke of how 10 years of vapid trends and media manipulation have resulted in legions of manufactured, uninspiring hard rock bands with two good songs per album and careers that last no longer than two records. Then Maiden blasted into "Wildest Dreams" — a galloping track from their upcoming disc, Dance of Death — and it was as if the past decade never happened.

"Out on my way, out on the road again," wailed Dickinson before guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers traded deft, galvanic solos while bassist Steve Harris and drummer Nicko McBrain kept the rhythms pounding.

Sadly, time only really stands still in intensely boring classroom lectures — or, as Groucho Marx once said, "Time wounds all heels." The members of Iron Maiden are in their mid-to-late 40s now. Their faces are lined with wrinkles, their hair is growing grayer by the day, they all have families and they're not as freewheeling or impulsive as they once were. But they still have the energy, enthusiasm, agility and musical chops to win over an arena crowd.

One of the keys to Maiden's longevity is devotion. Through thick and thin, the band has never strayed from its epic metal course, and its fans have rewarded it with undying loyalty. That's why Maiden are still able to sell out Madison Square Garden and other large venues without the aid of radio or video exposure.

Fans at the Garden had plenty to be excited about. Iron Maiden were loud, dramatic, and looked so metal. Dickinson ran a marathon from side to side and across a platform at the back of the stage, vaulted monitors like an Olympic long jumper, threw his fists in the air as if slaying giant dragonflies and waved a giant Union Jack flag. Yet he never got too winded to sing with accuracy, passion and authority.

While the frontman led the crusade, the band's guitarists put on kinetic displays of six-string precision, and each sported trademark moves that helped establish their identity. When he wasn't navigating the stage, Smith stood stoic, knees bent, legs wide apart, and threw his head back when he ripped through speedy, melodic leads. Murray was less mobile, often looking down at his guitar as he played, though he frequently arched his back at the string-bending apex of his screaming solos. Gers, with his flowing blond hair, was the band's most acrobatic and hyperactive axeman. As he played he jogged in place, whipped his instrument in circles around his body, windmilled, hoisted his guitar against his outer thigh and kicked his monitor with his heel.

Such gestures would seem absurd from Nickelback, but Maiden fans expect nothing less than overblown showmanship. They screamed with joy when a giant metal robot version of the band's mascot, Eddie, ascended during the set closer, "Iron Maiden." As the creature's head opened on a hinge, a car-sized brain descended from the rafters and landed in the gleaming skull, causing the torso to wiggle and the metal jaws to make chewing motions.

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